We’ve all been there. It’s your birthday and you’ve been dropping hints to everyone who will listen. You think you’re going to end up with the hottest game of the year, but somehow your parents fudged it up and bought some random Call of Duty knock off or, worse yet, some game you’ve never even heard of. Checking the Steam reviews usually leaves you in tears; that’s how bad that unknown game is. The Gamer promises that they meant well. They usually just don’t know any better.

Can you blame them though? Nowadays, there are so many ways to play games from all the various consoles to anything and everything on Steam. Back when your parents were gaming, they had to play the original Grand Theft Auto with bird’s eye view. That’s like walking 10 miles in the snow to school, both ways, and uphill. So don’t be so hard on them that they stop trying. At least they attempted to understand what’s trending even though they still think PewDiePie is a new dessert.

The Gamer made a list of games that they definitely shouldn’t buy you for your birthday. We know that they hear things like “simulator” and “streaming” and tend to get caught up on those words. We made sure to point out that these types of games are not what you’re looking for. Hopefully, this helps and you find the game of your dreams, wrapped up, and waiting for you next to your birthday cake. Please remember, The Gamer is not responsible for your parents’ bad choices. We tried. We really did.